-- 9am, Couric: "Plus we're going to be talking with the author of a new book that claims one past President may have led an alternative lifestyle." Al Roker, mimicking a Seinfeld line: "Not that there's anything wrong with that." Couric: "Exactly!"

-- A bit later, Couric: "And still to come this morning on Today." Holt: "Was Abraham Lincoln actually gay? We'll open the book on the latest controversy."

NBC's Today spent much of Tuesday's show incessantly plugging an upcoming story about a book by a gay advocate which claims that President Abraham Lincoln was gay. Katie Couric, for instance, contrasted Lincoln's image of honesty with the new charge: "He's famous, of course, as 'Honest Abe,' but was former President Abraham Lincoln not completely honest when it came to his sexuality?" Ann Curry set up the eventual story: "Now to an interesting question that has surfaced about one of this country's most revered Presidents nearly 150 years later. Was Abraham Lincoln gay?" That story included those who don't buy the idea, but also featured gay activist Larry Kramer who used the opportunity to trash modern Republicans: "Hateful people who hate us, who belong to his party will leave us alone now for awhile out of deference to their founder who is one of us now more than he is one of them."

Was Abraham Lincoln Gay fact or Hoax

Finally, at about 9:45am, Today got to their much-plugged story. Ann Curry announced: "Now to an interesting question that has surfaced about one of this country's most revered Presidents nearly 150 years later. Was Abraham Lincoln gay? Here's NBC's Bob Faw."

OUTTAKE BLOG™: Was Abraham Lincoln Gay??

2.NBC's Today spent much of Tuesday's show incessantly plugging an upcoming story about a book by a gay advocate which claims that President Abraham Lincoln was gay. Katie Couric, for instance, contrasted Lincoln's image of honesty with the new charge: "He's famous, of course, as 'Honest Abe,' but was former President Abraham Lincoln not completely honest when it came to his sexuality?" Ann Curry set up the eventual story: "Now to an interesting question that has surfaced about one of this country's most revered Presidents nearly 150 years later. Was Abraham Lincoln gay?" That story included those who don't buy the idea, but also featured gay activist Larry Kramer who used the opportunity to trash modern Republicans: "Hateful people who hate us, who belong to his party will leave us alone now for awhile out of deference to their founder who is one of us now more than he is one of them." Earlier, Curry, to guffaws from the rest of the Today cast, had mistakenly asserted that the new book "claims that President Clinton may have been gay."